Lukoil halted operations at the refinery amid investigations on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering amounting to EUR230 million. An official of the Russian group said earlier this week a decision on whether refining operations in Romania will continue or will be shut down would be made Friday.
The group’s official also called on Romanian authorities to lift the impound on the company’s crude oil stocks.
Romanian President Traian Basescu on Thursday deemed Lukoil’s pressure unacceptable and called on the government to be prepared to take over the oil refinery in Ploiesti should Lukoil decide not to resume activity. The president also said Lukoil must decide either to observe Romanian law or leave the Romanian market altogether, adding pressuring authorities in unacceptable in a EU country.
Investigators raided the Russian-held Lukoil’s offices in Ploiesti last week on suspicions of defrauding the state of EUR230 million through tax evasion and money laundering. The refinery’s general manager, Andrey Bogdanov, has been placed under judicial control and is under criminal investigation.